Palestinian official assassinated in refugee camp in Lebanon

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese security officials say gunmen have ambushed and killed a Palestinian official in a refugee camp in southern Lebanon.

They say Talal al-Urduni, a senior security official with the mainstream Palestinian Fatah movement, died Saturday in a hail of gunfire along with his bodyguard after they were intercepted by the gunmen near the Nidaa hospital in a neighborhood of the camp.

Lebanese security officials say Islamic extremists in the camp were likely behind the assassination Saturday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give official statements.

The assassination triggered heavy gunfire inside the camp, which could be heart in the southern port of Sidon.

Assassinations are common in Ein el-Hilweh, Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp and a haven for militants and fugitives.